Raymarine radar plugin for OpenCPN

[belizesailor]

Yes, the old Pathfinder is a great unit and Im still very pleased with it. Would be cool to be able to repeat on tablet/laptop but not really worth a lot of effort to me.

The MARPA works well enough for me, its never been a functional issue.

[Cap_Hassel]

Hi,
I successfully installed the plugin without any problems previously described (win7). I have a system onboard with two E120 classic displays. Will try to connect the PC to try out the plugin live. What kind of interface does the plugin try to search for the data? On ethernet-network cable or on a serial port (USB)?
There are some different ways to interface PC to these old systems with raymarine HSB or HSB2, and some may work hardware (PCMCIA, USB, ethernet) or operating systems while others may not, so I thought first to ask if the plugin has any special interface it is set up to look for the incoming data.

Great initiative anyhow!

[nohal]

Ethernet.

[rom]

Originally Posted by nohal

RDxxxD, like RD424D, Ethernet.
And the analog ones, if you have the E80 plotter as well.

My E120 died last year but I still have the analog radar ... Any chance I can connect it directly to the computer ? In case it's a "no", what interface do you use from the E80/120 to your computer ?

[nohal]

No.
Ethernet. (The plotter does the conversion from analog radar to the digital data it transmits over the Ethernet interface, there is no chance for it to work without it.)

[rom]

Originally Posted by nohal

No.
Ethernet. (The plotter does the conversion from analog radar to the digital data it transmits over the Ethernet interface, there is no chance for it to work without it.)

thanks nohal ! I'll keep the radar a little more, maybe someday I'll buy a cheap second hand "E series" just for that purpose.

[FishFinger]

I have waited a long time for this but I am a complete novice when it comes to coding. Please, help to provide a step by step instruction, a sort of Raymarine radar plugin for dummies like me.

Thanks ever so much, in advance.

[merrimac]

The Raymarine plugin seems to be a fork of the Navico plugin as it was about 2 years ago. It would be best to start again and develop it as an addition to the new generic Halo/Broadband/Garmin "radar_pi" plugin, then we can create a single plugin that serves all radars. This has the advantage that new functionality such as AIS overlay, ARPA, better stability, improved UI, etc. gets to all radar plugin users.

[Pizzazz]

The developer of the plugin wrote that he will have time to port his work into the new plugin structure sometime in April. Then it will be in sync and easier to maintain.

However, the current version works just fine. You download the updated code (from my profile), compile it under Windows, then install the plugin. Connect an Ethernet cable to the radar (or the switch if you have multiple displays) and enjoy the view.

[glambx]

I'm trying this against my Quantum radar. No luck yet; it doesn't seem to publish the same function ID (40, instead of 1), and the messages are different. I'll keep working at it, but does anyone happen to know where I could find documentation on it?

[Raggedglory]

My gosh you guys are speaking a foreign language to me.
It is so confusing but thanks for the benefits you provide us all.

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by glambx

I'm trying this against my Quantum radar. No luck yet; it doesn't seem to publish the same function ID (40, instead of 1), and the messages are different. I'll keep working at it, but does anyone happen to know where I could find documentation on it?

This is where you need to develop some sleuthing skills with tcpdump. Focus on understanding the stream from the radar first. Control it using your mfd, and see if you can get the plugin to display the radar image. Once that is done start on determining the messages that the radar needs for each control operation (on, off, gain, etc). The latter is easy if you have a mfd that supports the operation and you can observe the tcp or udp stream live whilst you press buttons on the mfd.

There are no manuals, sorry. None of the manufacturers publish their data formats.

if it is so different then it is really really much better if you start with the new plugin sources as that allows an arbitrary # of radars to be added,and we accept pull requests for that code base. We can also support you by looking at dumps & your sources.

[FishFinger]

Plugin installed..yes it crashed on exit on mine too, but it also crashed when I tried to turn the radar on using the radar control!

[merrimac]

Originally Posted by FishFinger

Plugin installed..yes it crashed on exit on mine too, but it also crashed when I tried to turn the radar on using the radar control!

Did you try Rgleason's version?

[Cap_Hassel]

Ethernet_ok. Should it be a straight RJ45 or a cross-coupled RJ45 Ethernet cable?

It was also mentioned some kind of diagnostic tool to check the messages send from the MFD when pressing certain functions. Can anyone describe the hardware/software for that?

Merry Christmas